1. Field
Embodiments relate to a power control apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same and, more particularly, to a power control apparatus capable of minimizing unnecessary power consumption during power off of an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multi-purpose peripheral apparatus having a combination of the functions of the printer, copier and facsimile.
The image forming apparatus provides power to a controller and principal components thereof using a power supply, a DC/DC converter, etc. Specifically, the power supply converts alternating current (AC) power provided by an external power source into primary direct current (DC) power. The DC/DC converter generates secondary DC power used for the controller that controls the image forming apparatus and internal components of the image forming apparatus using the DC power.
While other power converters such as a regulator can replace the DC/DC converter, a DC/DC converter having high power conversion efficiency is increasingly used in order to minimize power consumption of the image forming apparatus and save energy.
A recent image forming apparatus adopts a scheme of converting AC power to a DC voltage and then converting the DC voltage into secondary DC voltages having different levels using the DC/DC converter.
In general, the DC/DC converter includes an enable pin through which the DC/DC converter can be enabled or disabled by an external signal. The DC/DC converter is activated (or enabled) or inactivated (shut down or disabled) according to the level of a signal input to the enable pin.
A microcomputer-based power control circuit is additionally provided to control activation or inactivation of the DC/DC converter in such a manner that a signal having an appropriate voltage level is applied to the enable pin of the DC/DC converter. Accordingly, when the image forming apparatus is powered off, unnecessary power consumption is minimized by disabling the DC/DC converter using the microcomputer-based power control circuit.
However, a conventional power control apparatus additionally includes the microcomputer-based power control circuit for controlling activation or inactivation of the DC/DC converter, and thus the number of components of the power control apparatus increases, raising manufacturing costs and complicating the configuration of the power control circuit.
Furthermore, since the microcomputer-based power control circuit needs to be continuously provided with power even when the image forming apparatus is powered off, unnecessary power consumption still occurs.